Three days and three nights in this city, and I agree that it must be one of the most livable cities in Germany, if not Europe! I loved walking around the Marienplatz…watching people shop and eat and sell fruit stop and listen to street music…it is so vibrant and alive! Of course, one must visit the Hofbräuhaus… I drank my first and last liter of beer there in the picturesque Bier Garten. Perhaps the best place in Munich to spend an afternoon is in the English Garten (Munich’s Central Park.) I walked by surfers and marvelled at the fact that they surf in such freezing water in the downtown of a major city.
Another must in the English Garten is a stop at the Chinese Tower. My friends and I sat in this large 6,000 seat picnic area/ bier garten— complete with huge beers and lots of laugther and music and people speaking all kinds of languages. This city is so pedestrian and bicycle friendly that exploring it is a treat! I know I will be back someday… Tchüss, München!
Posts Tagged ‘Marienplatz’
Three days and three nights in Munich
Monday, August 17th, 2009Glockenspiel at the Marienplatz
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009Every day at 11 and 12 o’clock (between March and October also at 17 o’clock) the “Glockenspiel” takes place. During this time the Marienplatz is so crowed that you hardly get from one side to the other. The Marienplatz is only just about 10 walking minutes from the Hotel Monaco. The jutty in which you can find the attraction is attached to the tower of the main hall. From there the “Schäffler” are looking down on the crowds and are wondering why there are still so interesting after having danced for already 100 years. But something still fascinates people about this historic attraction.
On the lower part the “Schäffler” are dancing the “Schäfflerdance”, which was developed during the time of the Black Death in the 14th century. On the upper part you can see the reconstruction of the wedding of the duke Wilhelm V with Renata from Lothringen 1568, which took place on the Marienplatz. There they are still celebrating their “happily ever after”. J Actually, those who think it’s playing the same melody the whole year is deadly wrong. There is a programme. At the moment it’s playing “Jetzt gang i an’s Brünnele” (Now, I’m going to the fountain), “Wohlauf Kameraden auf’s Pferd, auf’s Pferd” (Let’s go for a ride my friends), “Schäfflerdance 2nd part” and “The last rose”.
After almost 100 years of attracting people, the 43 bells were completely cleaned and reconstructed in 2007. So you are lucky to be in Munich now, because the ringing is more beautiful than ever. What I found out as well, when I wrote this Blog, was that the Glockenspiel is completely moved with solar energy, which I think is great.
Best wishes.
Yours Franziska from the Hotel Monaco, Munich
Hotel Monaco – our experiences
Thursday, March 26th, 2009The fog we followed from Frankfurt lifted slightly as our ICE train pulled into the Munich station. We were met with a cold rain but our excitement of being in the city warmed us as we walked the 2 blocks to our hotel. The “Hotel Monaco” sign very prominently displayed on the side of the building, we had no problem at all finding our new home away from home. We ascended to the 5th floor reception and were met by the kindest woman, Rita. She welcomed us to Munich and got us checked in. In addition, she offered us a map of the city and described the sites not to be missed on our short trip here. Everything is such an easy journey from the hotel’s excellent location. Just when we thought it could not get any better, Rita took us to our room. I’d seen the pictures and descriptions online, but words and pictures could not do justice to the room we entered! Light hard wood floors and brightly colored curtains instantly gave warmth and comfort to the cold day that was outside the window. The room was huge by European standards and had very nice amenities including free wi-fi, a large flat-panel TV, and sundries in the bathroom such as packets of shampoo and conditioner. It was such a warm, inviting room that we actually hated to leave it as we began our whirlwind tour of the city. We drug ourselves out into the cold, misty morning and had a wonderful time seeing such sites as the Deutsches Museum and the Marienplatz where we witnessed the awe inspring Glockenspeil of the Neues Rathaus as well as the amazing ambience of the square itself. We ventured by the Haufbrauhaus and had a beer while we took in the fun and wonder of drinking with thousands while the oom-pah band played in the background. We strolled back towards the hotel and found a romantic little Italian place where we dined by the upstairs window, watching Munich go hurriedly by. Nothing could have prepared us for the comfort of the beds that we crawled into after our full day in the city! Waking leisurely, we found it difficult to leave the comfort and warmth of the big, cozy comforters and crisp sheets. We knew a delicious breakfast awaited us in the hotel’s dining room so we reluctantly left the warmth of our bed to move on with another day taking in the city. Knowing that we could not possibly see and do everything there is to do in Munich in our short over-night, we now have a wonderul reason to return–the Hotel Monaco and the beautiful city beyond its walls.
Impressions of munich
Tuesday, March 17th, 2009Marvellous Munich… We were so plesantly surprised once we arrived into this charming city.
Having already travelled through several European cities, we can honestly say that everything we had thought and were told about Munich, and Germany in general, was actually quite wrong.
From the moment we arrived, smoothly and on time into Munich Hbf central train station, we could see from the order and flow of pedestrian traffic, that Munich was a very much organised city. The vibrant food shops were full of people ordering their food, and we observed courtesy & co-ordination at all times.
We easily got directions from a total stranger as to the whereabouts of the tourist information office just around the corner. The lady there, Antoinette, was very helpful & even assisted us in booking a munich hotel, Hotel Monaco, just 600m from the office. We walked there, and were warmly greeted on the 5th floor reception area by the lovely Rita. She could not do enough for us, with suggestions of what to see, do and visit in Munich.
A visit to Dachau was moving. We will never forget it. The weather was cool, as is normal in mid March. We caught taxi’s, busses & trains to get around.
All forms of transport were very reliable, safe and pleasant. We also enjoyed walking to Marienplatz, where the impressive St Peters church and shopping precinct are located. The beer garden and markets were close by, and we enjoyed fresh produce, some fish and chips and some German beer whilst there…fantastic.
A visit to Munich is not complete without a visit to their famous Bavarian Augustine Beer Hall. Enjoy traditional German sausage, cabbage, mashed potato & pork with pretzels and beer..hearty & sumptuous. A Bavarian band plays music in the background, and we found ourselves clapping to the beat, as people around us sang along to this joyous culinary occasion.
A daytime double decker city bus tour completed our 3 day stay in Munich. We were surprised and saddened to learn on this tour, that about 80% of Munich was destroyed from WW2 air raids & warefare. Therefore, much of Munich has been rebuilt by the people over the proceeding years. Nevertheless, one can enjoy many famous buildings, art museums, statues to venerated past leaders and beautiful parks and waterways. We felt safe at all times. Germans, and the various other nationalities of people we met in our travels, were always veryl friendly and helpful.
We will cherish our memories of this fine citiy & it’s warm engaging people. It truly is, a marvellous place!
George, Maria, Olivia & Belinda Cosentino.
Perth, West Australia.
16 March, 2009.